i don't think it's just a matter of gearing. no matter how many gears you have your car eventually ends up expending a LOT of energy fighting against wind resistance. plus the power needed to go each increment faster against wind resistance increases exponentially. now, i drive fast, but i realize that driving the speed limit would probably save me some gas. i don't care enough about it to drive the speed limit though. it drives me nuts to go that slow.
What are you doing about gas prices?
- Thread starter Gone To Texas
- Start date
Orange&White
1,000+ Posts
I drive an 2006 Accord 4 cyl that gets me about 24 mpg with my driving habits. I put 14 gallons into it 4 times a month. Even if gas was $1.00/ gallon cheaper than it is now, it's only saving me $56/month.
Naturally, I'd rather have the $56 more a month, but it isn't killing me. There are a lot of other things that I could cut down on, much easier than fuel, that would save me $56/month.
So, to answer the question, I'm not doing anything different.
Naturally, I'd rather have the $56 more a month, but it isn't killing me. There are a lot of other things that I could cut down on, much easier than fuel, that would save me $56/month.
So, to answer the question, I'm not doing anything different.
I sold my car and moved to a city with manageable mass transit. I also moved into an apartment that is walking distance from work. I get exercise and I don't even have to deal with the mass transit crowds on my commute.
Plus the beef and wine prices are significantly lower and I'm able to continually improve my Spanish. I don't work Fridays and my Mondays & Wednesdays are finished at 1:30pm.
Plus the beef and wine prices are significantly lower and I'm able to continually improve my Spanish. I don't work Fridays and my Mondays & Wednesdays are finished at 1:30pm.
PipFunatUT
500+ Posts
when driving my diesel truck i dont go over 60 mph (i get 27 mpg then or at least that is what the computre thing tells me)
but thats is only for work where i need the bed, all the other time is spent in the vw gti that can get up close to 40 mpg if in nonsport mode or the benz
but thats is only for work where i need the bed, all the other time is spent in the vw gti that can get up close to 40 mpg if in nonsport mode or the benz
PipFunatUT
500+ Posts
Hornius Emeritus
2,500+ Posts
What am I doing?
Well, I saw a Smart Car parked in downtown Austin last night and, for the first time in my life, I didn't laugh. That's a change for the better, I suppose.
Here's the definition of irony: my grandfather was a Ford mechanic who worked at the very same dealership in New Jersey for about 50 years. One day in about 1974 we were walking along the sidewalk and parked there, almost as an affront to his entire life, was a Honda CVCC. An orange one.
Oh, you should have heard the giggling and the laughing that came from him. He said "look at that tiny thing! Who would drive such a car? It looks like a roller skate!" He was a fan, of course, of big American iron.
Flash forward 34 years later and mighty Ford is losing billions of dollars a year, Honda is kicking major ***, and the world is going the way of the roller skate.
So I guess the moral of the story, for him and for me, is "be careful what you laugh at because you may be driving it next year or it may result in your unemployment the year after that."
Well, I saw a Smart Car parked in downtown Austin last night and, for the first time in my life, I didn't laugh. That's a change for the better, I suppose.
Here's the definition of irony: my grandfather was a Ford mechanic who worked at the very same dealership in New Jersey for about 50 years. One day in about 1974 we were walking along the sidewalk and parked there, almost as an affront to his entire life, was a Honda CVCC. An orange one.
Oh, you should have heard the giggling and the laughing that came from him. He said "look at that tiny thing! Who would drive such a car? It looks like a roller skate!" He was a fan, of course, of big American iron.
Flash forward 34 years later and mighty Ford is losing billions of dollars a year, Honda is kicking major ***, and the world is going the way of the roller skate.
So I guess the moral of the story, for him and for me, is "be careful what you laugh at because you may be driving it next year or it may result in your unemployment the year after that."
Hornius Emeritus-
I have a friend from Dallas who lives in LA. When he moved back out there after years in Dallas, he bought a friends F-250 extended bed King Cab. I guess that thing helped him move, but it was a miserable vehicle to have in LA.
It sucked up gas.
It was impossible to make tight turns. (He would have to reverse when making turns in a parking garage.)
And it was usually impossible to find a parking space.
He was in a animation program in some building next to a huge parking lot. I would have to meet him there and pick him up because we knew that he wouldn't be able to find parking wherever we were going.
There were times when he was supposed to meet us at someone's apartment, but he would never show. What happened? Well he came, drove around for about 20 minutes trying to find a place to park while simultaneously emptying his gas tank and then he would drive back to that lot and go into the computer lab for the rest of the evening.
The thing was so long, that we fit an 8' couch in the bed of the truck with room to spare at both ends. He finally sold that beast...
...and bought a 2-door YARIS.
I have a friend from Dallas who lives in LA. When he moved back out there after years in Dallas, he bought a friends F-250 extended bed King Cab. I guess that thing helped him move, but it was a miserable vehicle to have in LA.
It sucked up gas.
It was impossible to make tight turns. (He would have to reverse when making turns in a parking garage.)
And it was usually impossible to find a parking space.
He was in a animation program in some building next to a huge parking lot. I would have to meet him there and pick him up because we knew that he wouldn't be able to find parking wherever we were going.
There were times when he was supposed to meet us at someone's apartment, but he would never show. What happened? Well he came, drove around for about 20 minutes trying to find a place to park while simultaneously emptying his gas tank and then he would drive back to that lot and go into the computer lab for the rest of the evening.
The thing was so long, that we fit an 8' couch in the bed of the truck with room to spare at both ends. He finally sold that beast...
...and bought a 2-door YARIS.
accuratehorn
10,000+ Posts
Trying to buy more food and other products locally produced, which reduces transportation costs. Hard to do, because you don't know where many products come from, but I at least make it one of the factors considered in the equation.
We are starting to fix up the house, and this is one of the factors we consider-of course, we drive down to look at stuff 25 times before deciding which product will work, so the savings might be somewhat negated.
Trying to carpool more on birdwatching trips, if possible.
That Honda Civic CVCC, in 1972, I think it was, was the first automobile to meet U.S. emissions standards, when Detroit was crying and lobbying that the standards were impossible to meet.
We are starting to fix up the house, and this is one of the factors we consider-of course, we drive down to look at stuff 25 times before deciding which product will work, so the savings might be somewhat negated.
Trying to carpool more on birdwatching trips, if possible.
That Honda Civic CVCC, in 1972, I think it was, was the first automobile to meet U.S. emissions standards, when Detroit was crying and lobbying that the standards were impossible to meet.
Statalyzer
10,000+ Posts
Unless I have to be in court that day, I ride my bike everywhere. I have an Adams Trail-a-bike, so my 8 year old son and I pedal 3.5 miles to his school in the morning, and I pick him up three times a week that way, too. The other two days, I have to get him in the car to take him to martial arts class and drive a friend of his home from the class, but his friend is moving, so soon we can just bike it all the time.
If you stopped being such a scofflaw and breaking laws all the time you would not have to be in court so much. Then you could ride all the time.
I put ten bucks in the car a month ago and still have ways to go. I drive around the block or just to give the dog a ride to not let the gas sit too long. I will prob. fill the car up, put some stabilizer in it and that will last me probably until August if not longer.
I see gas guzzlers sitting in traffic going nowhere with Cedar Park or Round Rock stickers of their kids in the windows and cringe when I think of how much they must pay in their weekly commutes. Then I remember I don't care because it was their choice for that vehicle.
I put ten bucks in the car a month ago and still have ways to go. I drive around the block or just to give the dog a ride to not let the gas sit too long. I will prob. fill the car up, put some stabilizer in it and that will last me probably until August if not longer.
I see gas guzzlers sitting in traffic going nowhere with Cedar Park or Round Rock stickers of their kids in the windows and cringe when I think of how much they must pay in their weekly commutes. Then I remember I don't care because it was their choice for that vehicle.
PhantomHorn
1,000+ Posts
Nothing...I drive a company car that comes with an Exxon card.
voteforhank
100+ Posts
I have been debating the gas issue for a while now. I am thinking that the 3 series convertible BMW that I was thinking of for 50K will now become a 69 Pontiac GTO , which I can restore ( have done several muscle cars in the past) to a very nice daily driver for around 18K including the car (I have my eye on one). The Goat will get about 13 mpg, but will get way more wow factor than the BMW. The real savings is in price difference, and I can buy a lot of gas for the 28,000 dollars. Plus, i am not thinking the Goat will depreciate at all..... Thats my roundabout solution.
Chose a short commute location and that's really paying off. I can run my 5 year old Cherokee for 3 weeks on a single tank. Mishtress runs her small sedan for about 2 weeks on a tank by keeping the running around local.
The twice monthly weekends in Austin are getting expensive. $63 to fill up at Hruska's this last Sunday. I guess we'll be cutting back on the kolaches.
The twice monthly weekends in Austin are getting expensive. $63 to fill up at Hruska's this last Sunday. I guess we'll be cutting back on the kolaches.
big_fat_horn
100+ Posts
I drive from North Austin to Marble Falls and back everyday for work. Thats 41 miles each way on FM 1431, a very hilly road. By not going over 60, coasting as much as possible on downhills, maintaing tire pressure at 45 psi and keeping the windows up and no ac on, I can go from just over 400 miles on an 11.9 gallon tank to almost 500 miles on a tank. This is in a 2000 Honda Civic with just under 120,000 miles on it. Last time I checked, I was getting 39.5 mpg. And I always fill up at the WallMart in Marble Falls, they consistently have the cheapest gas I can find.
CottonEyedHorn
1,000+ Posts
Honestly? Not much.
The fiancee has a Prius that we drive most everywhere. My car gets 22-25mpg and probably gets driven 150-200 miles/month. We walk/bike to most of our shopping and eating.
It's nice to just save some money and get some exercise and we'd be doing the same if gas were $2/gallon out here.
It's nice to just save some money and get some exercise and we'd be doing the same if gas were $2/gallon out here.
Son of a Son
1,000+ Posts
My wife now takes the bus to work for $17/month and I use her Element to commute which gives me about a 50% increase in efficiency over my Avalanche. I'd take the bus too, but with a kid going to school in LISD and both of us working downtown, one of us has to have a vehicle at the office.
Once the train starts, provided there's some transportation like a Dillo or something to get me from the MLK station to downtown, I will take it.
Once the train starts, provided there's some transportation like a Dillo or something to get me from the MLK station to downtown, I will take it.
Nothing really. I ride the UT shuttle when I have to go to campus, but that's due to parking more than anything else. $8 for parking makes $4 gas look cheap. My other jobs are within, literally, 1 mile of my house. I use a tank of gas about every month. My wife, on the other hand, burns thru the **** driving up north everyday, but we just bought her a new car and gas mileage wasn't very high on the comparison list. I won't really start puckering until it hits at least $6 or a fill up gets close to $100.
I've continued to take the subway everywhere I go. Of course, i don't have any other option since I don't own a car. So really, I haven't done anything.
BUT -- I stopped taking cabs about a year ago (except late at night or when drunk). That right there saves me a ton of money.
BUT -- I stopped taking cabs about a year ago (except late at night or when drunk). That right there saves me a ton of money.
HoosierHorn
500+ Posts
I'm making more money.
I work from home, so gas price doesn't directly affect me, except for the sticker shock, and slight increase in the cost of my casual driving about in my big-*** SUV.
ask me what i'm doing about the cost of milk, bread, corn, rice, beef, etc. i am not an aggy.
I work from home, so gas price doesn't directly affect me, except for the sticker shock, and slight increase in the cost of my casual driving about in my big-*** SUV.
ask me what i'm doing about the cost of milk, bread, corn, rice, beef, etc. i am not an aggy.
AuburnTexas
100+ Posts
Yesterday I filled up using regular unleaded instead of premium. It's supposed to take premium only, so I'll see what happens.
I drive an SUV, but my commute is so short it does not make a huge difference day-to-day. The only real change I have made is flying a little more. I go to Austin on weekends fairly frequently, and I can now get a SW ticket a few weeks in advance for less than the cost of driving if I am going alone.
PhantomHorn
1,000+ Posts
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